Dr. Silvia Tobias

Fonction

Head of WSL Landscape Centre

Dynamique du paysage

Systèmes d'utilisation du territoire

Contact

silvia.tobias(at)wslto make life hard for spam bots.ch

+41 44 739 23 49+41 44 739 23 49

Institut fédéral de recherches sur la forêt, la neige et le paysage WSL
Zürcherstrasse 111
8903 Birmensdorf

Site

Birmensdorf Bi HL B 26

Portrait

Silvia’s current research fields are spatial development and the impact of land use on ecosystem services. She has been leading complex WSL-research programs about the progress of urban sprawl and its consequences for biodiversity and human well-being. In her work, she emphasises knowledge transfer between science and practice. She features inter- and transdisciplinary research in case studies with local stakeholders. Moreover, she is an expert in soil protection with a focus on soil restoration and soil compaction by agricultural management. Her teaching activities encompass lectures at ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and the University of Applied Sciences of Zurich. She studied environmental and geodetic engineering and accomplished her PhD in soil-bioengineering at ETH Zurich.

Professional and Research Interests

· Spatial planning: landscape development, urbanisation

· Ecosystem services (ESS): land use impact on ESS, ESS in urban regions, restoration of ESS

· Soil protection: soil compaction, soil restoration, soil use and management

· Soil bio-engineering: slope stability and erosion control

· Science–policy interface: transdisciplinary research, research synthesis, advisory services

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Diploma Environmental engineering, ETH Zürich, 1987 (Dipl. Kulturingenieurin ETH)

Ph.D. Soil bio-engineering, ETH Zürich, 1991 (Dr. sc. techn.)

Professional Experience

Since 2001 Research programme leader at the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf

1995 – 2001 Senior researcher at the Institute of Land Improvement and Water Management, ETH Zürich

1991 – 94 Scientific employee at the Soil Protection Service of Canton Zürich

1987 – 91 Ph.D student and teaching assistant at the Institute of Land Improvement and Water Management, ETH Zürich

1985 – 87 Tutor at the Institute of Hydromechanics and Water Supply, ETH Zürich

Teaching Activities

Since 2014 Teaching position for lecture in ‘Soil, environment, vegetation’ at University of Zurich (MSc level)

2012/2013 Guest lecturer in ‘Scorecards for knowledge visualisation’ at ZHAW Wädenswil (MSc level)

2000–2008 Teaching positions for lectures in ‘Land use, land improvement’ at ETH Zürich (BSc and graduate level)

2001–2005 Teaching position for in-depth studies (semester thesis) in ‘Land resources management’ at ETH Zürich (graduate level)

1998–2005 Teaching positions for lectures in ‘Soil bio-engineering’ at ZHAW Wädenswil (advanced training course)

Scientific and Public Services

Co-chair of the WSL Landscape Research Centre, since 2012

Member of the Advisory Board for Spatial Development of the Swiss Federal Council (Eidg. Rat für Raumordnung), since 2004

Member of the Jury of Landscape Development Projects of Canton Zürich (LEK-Jury Kanton Zürich), since 2003

President of the Soil Science Society of Switzerland, 2006–2008; Board member of the Soil Science Society of Switzerland, since 2004; President of the working group Soil Protection of the Soil Science Society of Switzerland, from 2001–2004; and since 2009

Member of the executive board of the European Society for Soil Conservation (ESSC), 2004–2007

Board member of the Swiss Society of Soil Bio-Engineering, 1989–1996

FURTHER INFORMATION

Projects

Reallabor Jurapark

Forschende des ETH-Bereichs bauen gemeinsam mit Akteuren des Juraparks Aargau ein Reallabor der nachhaltigen Entwicklung auf. Zu verschiedenen Themen werden konkrete Projekte lanciert und umgesetzt.

VRtous

The aim of VRtous is to study how virtual landscapes should look like to have positive effects on human well-being. Doing so, we use data from the mixed-reality cycling platform ZWIFT and survey its users.

Visitor flow management

An agent-based visitor flow management tool that allows for mitigating the conflict between outdoor recreation and biodiversity conservation will be developed for two riverine environments (lower Wigger valley and upper Glatt valley).

Further Development of Land-use Planning in the Age of Digitalisation "SILAR"

In times of advancing digitization, this hinders progress by preventing systematic standardizations of land-use regulations. These are necessary for integrating land-use planning into simulations of land-use change for larger regions and, thus, overcoming the drawbacks of using traditional 2-D land-use plans to regulate the three-dimensional built environment.

4°C+ oder mehr: Landschaften im Klimawandel

Mittels qualitativer und quantitativer Modellierungen werden Szenarien der Landschaftsveränderung unter Klimawandel für die Jahre 2050 und 2100 entworfen und in Bildern und einer Video-Animation visualisiert.

Soil protection in road projects

The project assesses the impacts of national road construction projects on soils, evaluates best-practice examples of mitigation measures, and develops soil protection strategies for road projects in cooperation with the stakeholders.

Noise and Greenspaces

Can people in urban regions recover from stress in green spaces or is there too much noise? Researchers from WSL and Empa explore the audio-visual requirements green spaces have to meet to enable noise-exposed people to recover from stress.

Urban Trees

We assess the state of knowledge about the importance of trees in cities for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Future research needs are defined with a specific focus on the city Zurich.

Waldwahrnehmung mit allen Sinnen

Attraktivität von Wäldern wird meistens anhand von visuellen Merkmalen bestimmt. Waldwahrnehmung basiert aber nicht nur auf visuellen Eindrücken - alle Sinne spielen eine Rolle. In diesem Projekt wird die Waldwahrnehmung von Waldbesuchenden mit allen Sinnen, insbesondere des Gehörsinns, erfasst.

Evaluating Spatial Planning Practices with Digital Plan Data

In DIGIPLAN we will analyze and compare the digitization of planning data in European countries, including the scope, organization, financing as well as the current and potential future uses of digital planning.

Spezialfälle und Fruchtfolgeflächen

Können Böden unter Gewächshäusern, in Gewässerräumen etc. auch ins kantonale Inventar an Fruchtfolgeflächen aufgenommen werden?

Future consumption of prime cropland

Land use scenarios suggest that prime cropland, according to the sectorial plan of cropland protection, may come under even greater urbanisation pressure in some cantons in the following period of comprehensive plans.

Spatial planning and cropland protection

Deep agricultural soils are a vital resource. Spatial planning must protect them. The project examines the various instruments of European countries.

SImulating REcreationists’ MOvements

Wir entwickeln ein Agenten basiertes Modell zur Simulation der linearen Fortbewegung zu und in Naherholungsgebieten in suburbanen Gemeinden. Das Modell berücksichtigt neben den Wegeigenschaften auch landschaftliche Qualitäten und die Bedürfnisse verschiedener Langsamverkehrsnutzer.

Raumkonzept Schweiz

Auf Basis von Expertenbefragungen wurden verschiedene Entwicklungsoptionen für die Landschaftsräume der Schweiz formuliert. Die Entwicklungen wurden anschliessend in Zusammenarbeit mit der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste visualisiert und dienten als Diskussionsgrundlage im Rahmen der Erarbeitung des Raumkonzepts Schweiz.

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Publications WSL

Scientific publication article peer reviewed

Hersperger, A.M.; Thurnheer-Wittenwiler, C.; Tobias, S.; Folvig, S.; Fertner, C., 2021: Digitalization in land-use planning: effects of digital plan data on efficiently, transparency and innovation. European Planning Studies, doi: 10.1080/09654313.2021.2016640

Tobias, S.; Price, B., 2020: How effective is spatial planning for cropland protection? An assessment based on land-use scenarios. Land, 9, 2: 43 (20 pp.). doi: 10.3390/land9020043

Oliveira, E.; Leuthard, J.; Tobias, S., 2019: Spatial planning instruments for cropland protection in Western European countries. Land Use Policy, 87: 104031 (12 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104031

Oliveira, E.; Tobias, S.; Hersperger, A.M., 2018: Can strategic spatial planning contribute to land degradation reduction in urban regions? State of the art and future research. Sustainability, 10, 4: 949 (23 pp.). doi: 10.3390/su10040949

Tobias, S.; Ströbele, M.F.; Buser, T., 2018: How transdisciplinary projects influence participants’ ways of thinking: a case study on future landscape development. Sustainability Science, 14: 405-419. doi: 10.1007/s11625-018-0532-y

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Further scientific publications

Dopico, J.; Schäffer, B.; García Martín, M.; Kolecka, N.; Tobias, S.; Schaupp, J.; Bauer, N.; Röösli, M.; Vienneau, D.; Brink, M.; Wunderli, J., 2022: Studying the association between noise exposure, stress and characteristics of green spaces: protocol and pilot study. In: 2022: Proceedings. Internoise 2022. Inter.Noise 2022, Glasgow. 166 (9 pp.).

Hersperger, A.M.; Tobias, S.; Thurnheer, C.; Fertner, Ch., 2022: Digitale Daten in der Raumplanung - eine europäische Perspektive. Geomatik Schweiz, Géomatique Suisse, Geomatica Svizzera, 120, 5-6: 102-104.

Fertner, C.; Folvig, S.; Christensen, A.A.; Grønning, M.; Galland, D.; Rutledal, B.; Le Diraison, M.; Hersperger, A.; Tobias, S.; Wittenwiler, C.; Grunfelder, J.; Cuadrado, A., 2022: Potential and challenges of digitisation in planning practice. Working paper. 23 p.

Wartmann, F.; Kienast, F.; Hunziker, M., 2021: Messen wie die Bevölkerung Landschaft für die Erholung nutzt. Erkenntnisse aus dem Programm Landschaftsbeobachtung Schweiz LABES. In: Hunziker, M.; Bürgi, M.; Kienast, F.; Tobias, S.; Bauer, N.; Bebi, P. (eds), 2021: Erholsame Landschaft. Forum für Wissen 2021, Birmensdorf. 13-16.

Schnabel-Jung, U.; Wipf, S., 2021: Extreme Besucherströme bringen neue Herausforderungen für Schutzgebiete. In: Bürgi, M.; Tobias, S.; Hunziker, M.; Bauer, N.; Bebi, P.; Kienast, F. (eds), 2021: Erholsame Landschaft. Forum für Wissen 2021, Birmensdorf. 57-61.

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Magazine article and brochures

Tobias, S., 2020: Megatrends und Unsicherheiten. Strategien für den Umgang mit raumrelevanten Megatrends. Raum & Umwelt, 2020, 4: 12-15.

Tobias, S., 2019: Dare forma in mondo consapevole al paesaggio di domani. Forum Raumentwicklung. Forum du développement territorial. Forum sviluppo territoriale, 74-78.

Tobias, S., 2019: Organiser le paysage de demain avec intelligence. Forum Raumentwicklung. Forum du développement territorial. Forum sviluppo territoriale, 40-43.

Tobias, S., 2019: Die Landschaft von morgen bewusst gestalten. Forum Raumentwicklung. Forum du développement territorial. Forum sviluppo territoriale, 4-7.

Tobias, S.; Obrist, M.K.; Moretti, M.; Nobis, M.P., 2016: Raumansprüche von Mensch und Natur: wie vereinbaren? – Comment concilier les exigences spatiales de l'homme et de la nature?. Nature et Paysage. Natur und Landschaft: Inside, 20-24.

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